1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fire-rated flush-mounted, corner guard of simple yet highly effective construction which has the advantage of providing an aesthetically pleasing flush mounted corner guard for an exposed corner in a building hallway or the like, while maintaining the fire rating integrity of the wall and corner. More particularly, it is concerned with a corner guard having a cover resiliently mounted to an inset corner portion, flush with the building walls, with insulating means disposed between the cover and the corner portion which provides a fire rating substantially equivalent to the fire rating of the adjacent walls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
State and local building codes almost universally require that the interior walls of buildings have a "fire rating". For example, the Uniform Building Code requires a two-hour fire rating for interior walls as determined by ASTM Test E-119. The two-hour standard requires that a wall exposed to a flame at 1800 degrees Farenheit for two hours not allow a temperature rise above ambient of more than 250 degrees Farenheit on the other side of the wall, and that upon conclusion of the two-hour firing, the flame-exposed wall portion not pass any water from a fire hose stream directed against the wall.
A two-hour fire rating for interior walls is typically achieved by constructing walls having two layers of 5/8" thick face-to-face sheet rock panels. These panels are also called fire rock panels.
Along with the required two-hour fire rating, it may also be desirable to install corner guards on exposed interior wall corners. This is especially true in buildings which are subject to extensive wheeled cart traffic, such as hospitals. Without corner guards, the corners quickly become chipped and damaged. This in turn requires frequent repair.
Flush mounted corner guards prevent corner damage and also present a pleasing appearance. A typical corner guard, such as that manufactured by Balco, Inc. of Wichita, Kan. incorporates an impact-resistant, textured thermoplastic corner guard cover retained to the corner of the wall by a recessed aluminum retainer anchored to a substratum of the wall. In some models, a continous shock-absorbing cushion may extend along the length of the retainer between it and the cover for resiliently absorbing blows of any vehicles which may run into the guard.
Flush installation of a corner guard requires the wall portion in the vicinity of the corner to be inset or recessed. This is usually achieved by removing the outer layer of fire rock at the vicinity of the corner (or by omitting this portion of the outer layer during construction). However, absence of the outer layer portion of the fire rock reduces or eliminates the fire rating of the wall below that required by applicable codes, i.e., the wall no longer has a two hour rating.
According, there is a decided need for a fire-rated corner guard which can be flush-mounted without reducing the fire rating of the adjoining walls in the vicinity of the corner.